Fox accuses city prosecutor of abusing his office

Robertson defends actions as appropriate

Jun. 30, 2012

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STAUNTON — In the famous words of Michael Buffer, he of ring announcer fame, "Let's get ready to rumble!"

In one corner, we have Staunton Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond Robertson. In the other, we have Craigsville Mayor Richard Fox.

At issue is a fender-bender involving Fox's niece, Amanda Keller, 25, and a Staunton woman, 61-year-old Linda Holden. The vehicle accident took place Thursday morning on North Coalter Street in front of World Nails, which sits directly across the street from Food Lion.

A Staunton police officer initially cited Holden for failure to yield the right-of-way. However, Holden quickly approached Robertson — the two are good friends — and went to the scene of the accident with the prosecutor. After giving him her version of events, Robertson decided not to prosecute the charge.

The decision did not sit well with Fox.

"For the Commonwealth's Attorney to get involved in a traffic violation, I mean, come on," Fox said Friday.

Fox accuses Robertson of using his political position "beyond what it should be." He added, "Why are we going to have the police out there if we're not going to entrust them with what they're doing?"

The police report stated that, according to Keller, she was headed north toward Robert E. Lee High School about 9:30 a.m. following Holden's 1998 Ford pickup, when Holden veered left and then attempted a right-hand turn, causing both vehicles to collide. Damage was reported to Holden's passenger side and to the front driver's side of Keller's 1991 Subaru station wagon.

Keller's car left a 21-foot skid mark, which ended in a parking spot at World Nails. "I veered to try and miss her," Keller said.

For her part, Holden feels she did nothing wrong and said she activated her right turn signal when she pulled into World Nails, a simple maneuver she has made countless times in the past.

"I've been coming here for about five years every two to three weeks," she said.

Holden said she was about a third of the way into her parking spot when the vehicles met. "I was in shock," she said.

Keller said since the charge was dropped, Holden's insurance company isn't cooperating with her. "They don't want to accept any responsibility for anything," she said.

So far, Keller said she's out $300 in towing and storage fees, and said her car is most likely totaled. On Friday, she filed a $2,000 civil suit in Staunton General District Court against Holden, where she also cited mental anguish and "unfair treatment by the Commonwealth Attorney."

Robertson acknowledged that he and Holden have been friends for a number of years, and also said it's unusual for him to visit the scene of a minor traffic accident. Still, he was adamant Friday that the case should be resolved in civil court, not traffic court. Robertson said he felt either both drivers should have been charged by the officer, or none at all. With just Holden charged, Robertson said it would give an undue advantage to the complainant in a civil court proceeding.

"I didn't think it was fair to have an uneven playing field," Robertson explained.

Robertson also felt that evidence at the scene possibly pointed to Keller following too closely or perhaps exceeding the speed limit. Keller disputes that theory.

"If I was following too close, the damage would have been in the rear of her vehicle," she said.